Layout decomposition method and method for manufacturing semiconductor device applying the same

ABSTRACT

A layout decomposition method and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device applying the same are provided. According to the layout decomposition method, a design layout is received by the logic processor of a computing system. A design rule for layout decomposition is then identified by the logic processor, including identifying dense areas (areas with densely distributed features) on a substrate, and identifying areas with odd-numbered features on the substrate. Next, a first mask with a first pattern and a second mask with a second pattern are generated corresponding to results of design rule identification by the computing system for fabricating patterns of features in at least two of the areas with odd-numbered features in one of the dense areas.

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/676,185, filed Nov. 14, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a layout decomposition method and method for manufacturing a semiconductor device applying the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

With a continuing development of reduce-sized electrical devices, the features such as integrated circuits (ICs) thereon are being made smaller and smaller. The fine pitches and patterns of features are required to satisfy the demands of the smaller devices. However, the required fine pitches and patterns of features raise the difficulty of the device fabrication. The feature size reduction could be limited due to the conventional processing techniques; for example, photolithography techniques have a minimum pitch below which features cannot be formed reliably. Generally, the ability to project an accurate image of increasingly smaller features onto the substrate/wafer is limited by the wavelength of the light used in photolithography, and the ability of the lens system. The yield of the photolithographic process gradually decreases, and its cost increases, as k1, a dimensionless coefficient of process-related factor, decreases below 0.35. Reducing k1 below 0.28 for a single exposure is not practical. Typically, double exposure is adopted for forming the features containing fine patterns and large patterns on a device.

Also, the “pitch doubling” technique has been proposed for extending the capabilities of photolithographic techniques beyond their minimum pitch, and it allows the number of features in a region of the substrate to be doubled. However, the doubled features formed by the “pitch doubling” technique would cause the problem to the areas requiring forming the odd-numbered features.

SUMMARY

The disclosure is directed to a layout decomposition method and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device applying the same. The layout decomposition method including step of identifying areas of odd-numbered features. The method for manufacturing semiconductor device applying the layout decomposition method of the embodiment simply transfers the patterns containing odd-numbered features of the semiconductor device.

According to the disclosure, a layout decomposition method executed by a logic processor of a computing system is provided. First, a design layout is received by the logic processor. A design rule for layout decomposition is then identified by the logic processor, including identifying dense areas (areas with densely distributed features) on a substrate, and identifying areas with odd-numbered features on the substrate. Next, a first mask with a first pattern and a second mask with a second pattern are generated corresponding to results of design rule identification by the computing system for fabricating patterns of features in at least two of the areas with odd-numbered features in one of the dense areas.

According to the disclosure, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, involving a layout decomposition executed by a logic processor of a computing system, is provided. In the beginning, a design layout is received and analyzed by the logic processor. Then dense areas (areas with densely distributed features) on a substrate, and also areas with odd-numbered features on the substrate are identified according to analyzing results of the design layout by the logic processor. At least two groups of odd-numbered features are formed respectively in at least two of the identified areas with odd-numbered features in one of the identified dense areas. This is achieved by the following steps. First, a temporary layer on the substrate is exposed through a first mask having a first pattern for fabricating patterns of spacers at least in one of the identified dense areas of the substrate, and the temporary layer is developed to form placeholders on the substrate. Then, even-numbered features are formed in the one of the identified dense areas of the substrate by at least a step of depositing a spacer material over the placeholders on the substrate, and a step of patterning the spacer material to form even-numbered spacers in the one of the dense areas of the substrate. After that, odd-numbered features of the even-numbered features are cut and/or blocked and part of the odd-numbered features is removed through a second mask having a second pattern, so as to form the at least two groups of odd-number features.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of a general process for a layout decomposition method according to the embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2A-FIG. 2D schematically illustrate an example for partially manufacturing a device with even-numbered features on a dense area according to the embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3A-FIG. 3D schematically illustrate an approach for partially manufacturing a device with odd-numbered features on a dense area according to the embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4A-FIG. 4D schematically illustrate another approach for partially manufacturing a device with odd-numbered features on a dense area according to the embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second mask for transferring pattern of spacers to the substrate.

FIG. 6A illustrates another second mask adopted for subsequently transferring pattern of spacers of FIG. 4D.

FIG. 6B illustrates a patterned substrate after spacer pattern transformation.

FIG. 7A-FIG. 11 schematically illustrate still another approach for partially manufacturing a device with odd-numbered features on a dense area according to the embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the present disclosure, a layout decomposition method is provided, and could be applied to manufacture the semiconductor device with double exposure, so that the even-numbered features and odd-numbered features for transferring patterns on the device (e.g. on the substrate or layers deposited thereon) using pitch doubling technique are formed successfully. The embodiments are described in details with reference to the accompanying drawings. The identical elements of the embodiments are designated with the same reference numerals. It is also important to point out that the illustrations may not be necessarily be drawn to scale, and that there may be other embodiments of the present disclosure which are not specifically illustrated. Thus, the specification and the drawings are to be regard as an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of a general process for a layout decomposition method according to the embodiment of the disclosure. The layout decomposition method of the disclosure is executed by a logic processor of a computing system. First, at step 101, a design layout is received by the logic processor. Next, at step 102, a design rule for layout decomposition is identified by the logic processor. In the embodiment, the identification of the design rule for layout decomposition includes the identification of areas with densely distributed features (i.e. “dense” areas) and areas with loosely distributed features (i.e. “loose” areas) of the device, and also the identification of patterned areas with odd-numbered features and even-numbered features. Then, at step 103, a first mask with a first pattern and a second mask with a second pattern corresponding to the results of design rule identification are created by the computing system.

In the application of the embodiment, the “dense” areas could be positioned in an array region which is typically densely populated with conductive lines and electrical components such as transistor and capacitors. The “loose” areas could be positioned in a peripheral region which optionally includes features larger than those in the array region. However, determinations of “dense” areas and “loose” areas, or “small” features and “large” features are chosen based on the process conditions for various pattern forming in the application, and can not be limited to the specific regions of the device. In the application of the embodiment, double exposure by the first mask followed by the second mask could be also adopted for making the device with patterns of fine and large features, odd-numbered and even-numbered features.

In the embodiments, at step 102, the minimum pitch of the features has been determined, and the areas with odd-numbered and even-numbered features have also been identified. Generally, the first pattern of the first mask contains the pattern of minimum pitch. There are several approaches to apply the layout decomposition method of the disclosure to manufacture the semiconductor device with odd-numbered features and even-numbered features, which are illustrated below.

FIG. 2A-FIG. 2D schematically illustrate an example for partially manufacturing a device with even-numbered features on a dense area according to the embodiment of the disclosure. In this example, a first mask having a first pattern containing plural fine-striped regions related to the dense areas of the substrate 20 is generated, while a second mask having a second pattern related to the loose areas and cutting/shielding regions of the dense areas of the substrate 20 is generated after design layout identification. As shown in FIG. 2A, the placeholders 21 are formed on the substrate 20. A layer of spacer material 22 is then deposited over the placeholders 21, as shown in FIG. 2B. Spacers 22′ are subsequently formed on the sides of the placeholders 21 by anisotropic etching, such as etching the spacer material 22 from the horizontal surfaces in a directional spacer etch, as shown in FIG. 2C. As shown in FIG. 2D, the placeholders 21 are then removed to leave the spacers 22′ standing on the substrate 20. Accordingly, the number of the spacers 22′ is twice of the placeholders 21. The spacers 22′ act as a mask for transferring pattern of spacer 22′ to the substrate 20, which forms the even-numbered features on the dense area of the device.

FIG. 3A-FIG. 3D schematically illustrate an approach for partially manufacturing a device with odd-numbered features on a dense area according to the embodiment of the disclosure. In this example, a first mask (not shown) may have plural fine-striped regions and wide-striped regions that are organized into the first pattern associated with the result of design layout identification of dense areas. Also, a second mask (not shown) having a second pattern is generated after design layout identification, which the second pattern is substantially corresponding to the loose areas on the substrate 30, and maybe related to the cutting/shielding regions of the dense areas based on the design needs. In this embodiment, the fine-striped regions of the first mask corresponding to the dense area (Aodd) with odd-numbered features define the fine placeholders 31 a on the substrate 30. Also, one of the wide-striped regions of the first mask is adjacent to one of the fine-striped regions in correspondence to one of the dense areas (Aodd), which defines at least a wide placeholder 31 b adjacent to the fine placeholders 31 a on the substrate 30, as shown in FIG. 3A.

Similarly, a layer of spacer material 32 is then deposited over the fine placeholders 31 a and wide placeholder 31 b, as shown in FIG. 3B. Spacers 32′ are subsequently formed on the sides of the fine placeholders 31 a and wide placeholder 31 b by anisotropic etching, such as etching the spacer material 32 from the horizontal surfaces in a directional spacer etch, as shown in FIG. 3C. The spacers 32′ at two sides of the wide placeholder 31 b belong to different areas, such as belonging to an area with odd-numbered features (Aodd) and another area with odd-numbered features. As shown in FIG. 3D, the fine placeholders 31 a and wide placeholder 31 b are then removed to leave the spacers 32′ standing on the substrate 30. Accordingly, odd-numbered spacers 32′ are formed in the dense area (Aodd) with odd-numbered features. The spacer 32′ standing outside the dense area (Aodd) with odd-numbered features could be grouped with other spacer or treated with dummy spacer, and the disclosure has no limitation thereto. In subsequent process, the spacers 32′ act as a mask for transferring pattern of spacer 32′ to the substrate 30. Since the odd-numbered spacers 32′ are formed as described above, the odd-numbered features would be successfully formed in the dense area of the device.

FIG. 4A-FIG. 4D schematically illustrate another approach for partially manufacturing a device with odd-numbered features on a dense area according to the embodiment of the disclosure. Formations of the placeholders 41, spacer material 42 and spacers 42′ on the substrate 40 are similar to that of the placeholders 21, spacer material 22 and spacers 22′ as described in FIG. 2A-FIG. 2D, which are not redundantly repeated. In this approach, the first pattern of the first mask including plural fine-striped regions corresponding to the dense areas is generated after design layout identification, while the second pattern of the second mask including correction regions related to the dense areas and normal regions related to the loose areas is generated after design layout identification. In one example, the correction regions of the second mask include opaque regions and transmissive regions, respectively for shielding and cutting spacers 42′ formed on the substrate 40. As shown in FIG. 4A, the fine-striped regions of the first mask define the fine placeholders 41 on the substrate 40, and part of the fine placeholders 41 corresponds to the dense area (Aodd) with odd-numbered features. As shown in FIG. 4C and FIG. 4D, even-numbered spacers 42′ are formed on the substrate 40. In the subsequent pattern-transferring process, the opaque region 521 of the second mask is used for shielding odd-numbered spacers 42′, so that the remaining odd-numbered spacers 42′ act as a mask for transferring pattern to the dense area of the substrate 40. Since the odd-numbered spacers 42′ are remained for pattern-transfer, the odd-numbered features are successfully formed in the dense area (Aodd) of the device. Please also refer to FIG. 5, which illustrates a second mask 52 with the opaque region 521 adopted for transferring pattern of spacers 42′ to the substrate 40.

FIG. 6A illustrates another second mask adopted for subsequently transferring pattern of spacers of FIG. 4D. Besides the opaque region 531 for shielding, the correction regions of the second mask 53 may further include pattern (such as at least one transmissive region 532) for cutting the spacer-transfer pattern formed on the substrate to meet the design requirements. Please refer to FIG. 6B, which is a top view of a patterned substrate 60 after spacer pattern transformation.

FIG. 7A-FIG. 9C schematically illustrate still another approach for partially manufacturing a device with odd-numbered features on a dense area (Adense) according to the embodiment of the disclosure. In this approach, the first pattern of the first mask (not shown) including plural fine-striped regions corresponding to at least one of the dense areas (Adense) is generated after design layout identification. Formations of the placeholders 71, spacer material 72 and spacers 72′ on the substrate 70, as illustrated in FIGS. 7A-7D, are similar to that of the placeholders 21, spacer material 22 and spacers 22′ as described in FIG. 2A-FIG. 2D, which are not redundantly repeated.

In one example, the spacers 72′ will then be cut and or/blocked to form the odd-numbered features. Please referring to FIG. 9A, a top view of the structure of FIG. 7D is shown. The second mask 80 with the second pattern generated after design layout identification is exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 9B. A second pattern includes a correction region related to the dense area (Adense). The correction region of the second mask may include a transmissive region 801 for cutting the spacers 72′ formed on the substrate 70. Alternatively, the correction region of the second mask may include opaque regions for blocking he spacers 72′ formed on the substrate 70. The opaque regions, for example, may be formed in the areas above and under region 801 (on paper) shown in FIG. 9B. Then, as shown in FIG. 9C, three of the even-numbered spacers 72′ are cut/blocked using the second mask 80, and part of the three spacers 72′ are removed. Thus, two groups of odd-numbered features are respectively formed in two areas with odd-numbered features (Aodd) in the dense area (Adense) simultaneously. As the example shown in FIG. 9C, the two groups of odd-numbered features may include the same number of the features while their lengths may be different.

In another example, the odd-numbered features to be formed are trenches.

In this example, after the steps shown in FIGS. 7A-7D, the steps of FIGS. 8A-8C are carried out. Another spacer material 82 is deposited over the spacers 72′, as shown in FIG. 8A. Here, the spacer material 82 and the spacer material 72 should be different. The undesired part of the spacer material 82 is removed, for example, by CMP. As shown in FIG. 8B, only the spacer materials 82′ filled between and beside the spacers 72′ are left. Then, as shown in FIG. 8C, the spacers 72′ are removed, for example, by wet etching, dry etching, or combination thereof, so as to form trenches 72″. Since the spacer material 82 and the spacer material 72 are different, only the spacers 72′ will be removed in this step. After that, the second mask 80 is used to cut/block the trenches 72″ for formation of the two groups of odd-numbered features, as described in FIGS. 9A-9C.

The same approach may be used to form different configurations with odd-numbered features, such as those shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. As the example shown in FIG. 10, in the dense area (Adense), more than two groups of odd-numbered features may be simultaneously formed in more than two areas with odd-numbered features (Aodd), respectively. As the example shown in FIG. 11, two groups including different numbers of odd-numbered features may be formed using one second mask.

According to the approaches described above, after design layout identification, a first mask having pattern related to the dense areas of the substrate is generated; while a second mask having pattern related to the loose areas, and/or to the cutting/shielding/blocking regions of the dense areas of the substrate if required by the design layout, is generated. The first mask is applied firstly to fabricate the patterns of spacers with small pitches (e.g. minimum pitch) in the dense areas of the substrate. Then, the second mask is applied to fabricate the patterns in the loose area, and also slot cuts or shields/blocks part of the spacers in the dense areas, thereby defining patterns containing the odd-numbered features and/or even-numbered features at the corresponding areas identified according to the design rule.

However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the pattern transferring process could be modified for pattern fabrication. In another example, a first mask having a first pattern corresponding to the entire substrate is generated after design layout identification, wherein the first pattern includes plural fine-striped regions corresponding to the minimum pitch of the dense areas. Also, a second mask having pattern related to the loose areas and cutting/shielding/blocking regions of the dense areas of the substrate is generated after design layout identification. For example, the second pattern of the second mask includes first correction regions related to the dense areas and second correction regions related to the loose areas. The first mask is applied firstly to fabricate the entire substrate containing the patterns of spacers with small pitches (as required in the dense areas). Then, the second mask is applied to cut the unwanted densely distributed spacers in the loose area, and the second mask also slot cuts or shields/blocks part of the dense areas to define the odd-numbered and even-numbered features. For example, the first correction regions of the second mask may include first opaque regions and/or first transmissive regions, for shielding/blocking and/or cutting the spacers formed on the dense areas of the substrate, respectively. The second correction regions of the second mask may include second opaque regions and/or second transmissive regions for shielding and/or removing undesired spacers in the loose areas of the substrate.

In the exemplified embodiments, the placeholders 21, 31 a, 31 b, 41 and 71 could be one layer or multi-layer of hard mask, which may comprise a material such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide, polycrystalline silicon, an organic material such as an amorphous carbon material, a polymer material, a spin on dielectric material such as an organic spin on anti-reflective coating (“ARC”), a dielectric anti-reflective coating (“DARC”) such as silicon-rich silicon oxynitride, or an inorganic material. In general, the materials for the placeholders 21, 31 a, 31 b, 41 and 71, and the spacer material 22, 32, 42, 72 and 82 are chosen based on the chemistry and the process conditions for the various patterns forming and transfer steps disclosed herein. Preferably, the material of the placeholders 21, 31 a, 31 b, 41 and 71 can be selectively etched (or “preferentially etched”) with respect to subsequently-deposited spacer material 22, 32, 42 and 72. Also, the thicknesses of the placeholders 21, 31 a, 31 b, 41 and 71, and the spacers 22′, 32′, 42′ and 72′ are also chosen depending upon compatibility with the etch chemistries and process conditions disclosed herein. Additionally, although a patterning process on the substrate is taken for illustration in the embodiments, other layer(s) could be added on the substrate and pattern could be transferred to the layer(s) if suitable materials, chemistries and/or process conditions are used.

According to the layout decomposition method of the disclosure, the masks with particular patterns could be generated, and the even-numbered features and odd-numbered features can be successfully and simply formed on the device (e.g. on the substrate or layers deposited thereon) without additional complicated processing steps. Also, the manufacturing method applied with the layout decomposition method of the embodiment is compatible with current process. Thus, the layout decomposition method of the embodiment is feasible for mass production.

While the disclosure has been described by way of example and in terms of the exemplary embodiment(s), it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A layout decomposition method, executed by a logic processor of a computing system, comprising: receiving a design layout by the logic processor; identifying a design rule for layout decomposition by the logic processor, comprising: identifying a plurality of dense areas on a substrate; and identifying areas with odd-numbered features on the substrate; and generating a first mask with a first pattern and a second mask with a second pattern corresponding to results of design rule identification by the computing system for fabricating patterns of features in at least two of the areas with odd-numbered features in one of the dense areas.
 2. The layout decomposition method according to claim 1, wherein the first pattern of the first mask includes fine-striped regions corresponding to the dense areas, and the second pattern of the second mask includes a correction region related to the dense areas.
 3. The layout decomposition method according to claim 2, wherein the correction region of the second mask includes a transmissive region for cutting spacers formed on substrate.
 4. The layout decomposition method according to claim 2, wherein the correction region of the second mask includes opaque regions for blocking spacers formed on substrate.
 5. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, involving a layout decomposition executed by a logic processor of a computing system, comprising: receiving and analyzing a design layout by the logic processor; identifying a plurality of dense areas and identifying a plurality of areas with odd-numbered features on a substrate of the semiconductor device according to analyzing results of the design layout by the logic processor; forming at least two groups of odd-numbered features respectively in at least two of the identified areas with odd-numbered features in one of the identified dense areas, comprising: exposing a temporary layer on the substrate through a first mask having a first pattern for fabricating patterns of spacers in the one of the identified dense areas of the substrate; developing the temporary layer to form placeholders on the substrate; forming even-numbered features in the one of the identified dense areas of the substrate, comprising: depositing a spacer material over the placeholders on the substrate, and patterning the spacer material to form even-numbered spacers in the one of the dense areas of the substrate; and cutting and/or blocking odd-numbered features of the even-numbered features and removing part of the odd-numbered features through a second mask having a second pattern so as to form the at least two groups of odd-numbered features.
 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the even-numbered features are the even-numbered spacers.
 7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the step of forming the even-numbered features further comprises: forming another spacer material between the even-numbered spacers; and removing the even-numbered spacers to form even-numbered trenches; and wherein the even-numbered features are the even-numbered trenches.
 8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first mask includes plural fine-striped regions substantially related to the dense areas of the substrate, and the spacers substantially formed at the dense areas after exposing and developing the temporary layer using the first mask.
 9. The method according to claim 5, wherein the second mask includes a transmissive region for cutting the odd-numbered features in the one of the dense areas.
 10. The method according to claim 5, wherein the second mask includes opaque regions for blocking the odd-numbered features in the one of the dense areas.
 11. The method according to claim 5, wherein the at least two groups of odd-numbered features are formed simultaneously.
 12. The method according to claim 5, wherein the number of features in one of the at least two groups of odd-numbered features is the same as the number of features in the another one of the at least two groups of odd-numbered features.
 13. The method according to claim 5, wherein the length of features in one of the at least two groups of odd-numbered features is different from the length of features in the another one of the at least two groups of odd-numbered features. 